analogue

Or an·a·log

[an-l-awg, -og]

noun

1. something having analogy to something else.

2. Biology.,  an organ or part analogous to another.

3. Chemistry.,  one of a group of chemical compounds similar in structure but different in respect to elemental composition.

4. a food made from vegetable matter, especially soybeans, that has been processed to taste and look like another food, as meat or dairy, and is used as a substitute for it.

analogue

/ ˈænəˌlɒɡ /

noun

1. 1. a physical object or quantity, such as a pointer on a dial or a voltage, used to measure or represent another quantity

   2. ( as modifier )

      analogue watch

      analogue recording

2. something analogous to something else

3. biology an analogous part or organ

4. chem

   1. an organic chemical compound related to another by substitution of hydrogen atoms with alkyl groups

      toluene is an analogue of benzene

   2. an organic compound that is similar in structure to another organic compound

      thiols are sulphur analogues of alcohols

5. informal,  a person who is afraid of using new technological devices Compare digital native digital immigrant

Word History and Origins

Origin of analogue¹

1820–30; < French < Greek análogon, neuter of análogos analogous; replacing earlier analogon < Greek

Example Sentences

Standing Ovation's CEO Yvan Chardonnens characterises the recent unpopularity as a first wave in the vegan "analogues" of cheese faltering because of quality, while he hopes that will improve in the next phase.

From BBC

It was the sitcom analogue to Conan Doyle’s “the trick,” the term for when Sherlock Holmes would dazzle Dr. Watson by telling him everything about someone just by looking at their walking stick.

From Los Angeles Times

"If we are serious about shifting care from hospital to community, from sickness to prevention, and from analogue to digital, then sustained investment in primary and community estates, equipment and technology is vital," she added.

From BBC

But I just thought, you know, then it doesn’t feel like a yummy mistep of an analogue photo, which speaks almost to the haziness of memory, in and of itself.

From Salon

“Nothing in the historical understanding of the Second Amendment warrants California’s magazine ban. Even with some latitude in searching for historical analogues, none exist,” he wrote.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• analog